Academics

A world capital of cultural and intellectual activity, the city of Paris is an essential part of the Parsons Paris educational experience. The faculty—professionals from the European and New York art and design communities—make full use of the setting, connecting students with local creative practitioners and cultural and civic organizations. Like their counterparts in New York, Parsons Paris students use the city as their laboratory, collaborating on creative projects and exploring ways to apply art and design to the challenges of urban life.

Parsons Paris’ educational objective is to prepare graduates for careers in art and design by combining design education with academic instruction in accordance with the goals of the New School. Parsons, and The New School as a whole, operate on the assumption that localized education is no longer sufficient in the global economy, and that our students need direct exposure to the broad, interrelated issues of today’s world (e.g., climate change, urban systems, sustainability, global production, and social justice). At Parsons Paris, we teach students that design can be used to benefit local and international communities. In their research and practice, The New School’s social science and humanities colleges are dedicated to the same educational goals as those necessary for tomorrow’s designers. Parsons Paris is a design school within a university that offers students access to visiting professors, online distributed learning, and a range of teaching practices and methodologies.

In Paris, curricula from the schools of Art, Media, and Technology; Art and Design History and Theory; Strategic Design and Management; and Fashion have been contextualized for the branch campus. Each school creates its own disciplinary agenda while remaining an important part of a unified institution and shared academic culture. All students are required to take the foundation year (first year) introduction to design, which merges classes from all four schools. Parsons Paris also offers summer programs, including pre-college and college/adult courses, aimed at introducing a wide audience to design and design thinking. Together, the four Parsons schools represented in Paris create a dynamically networked educational institution.

Parsons Paris also offers graduate degree programs. Applicants accepted to Parsons Paris become part of the academic community of The New School. They can supplement their art and design coursework with classes in business, urban studies, environmental studies, and other subjects through distributed learning networks and on campus in New York.

Academic Programs at Parsons Paris

Parsons Paris confers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and offers a range of nondegree study options. Classes are kept small to foster collaboration and community. Program curricula are based on the courses of study developed for the New York campus but are adapted to the culture and context of Paris. Instruction is in English, but students who are not already fluent in French will be enrolled in language courses, for which they will receive liberal arts credit. All students must demonstrate proficiency in French in order to graduate.